Also Known As

Sour lime

Description

Lime is a type of fruit, round to oval in shape with a characteristic sour and acidic taste. It is green to yellow colored with a prominent fresh fragrance or aroma. These are cultivated mostly in Himalayan region in India, and available throughout the year. It is used widely for its flavor in cooking recipes. The green variety is more tart compared to the yellow mature variety.

How to Select

Select round, yellow skinned without any cuts or blemishes. You can try pressing your finger nail on it, to check for the juicy content. These are available in all the vegetable markets throughout the year, of varying sizes from 3 to 6 cm diameter.

Culinary Uses

· The traditional Nimbu paani, i.e. lime water can be prepared by just adding lme juice , sugar and salt to chilled water.
· Lime is added on starters and salads to improve the taste as well as nutritive value.
· You can sprinkle a few drops of lime juice in subjis and curries to improve the flavor.
· It is used commercially for making lime sqashes, lime drinks, carbonated beverages, lime flavored sucking sweets and in sherbets and gingerales.
· Due to its acidic nature, you can use it to make paneer out of whole milk.

How to Store

The green varieties can be stored up to 3-4 days at room temperature until they ripen to yellow color. You can keep them for at least a week under refrigeration temperature. If kept more than that, it starts rotting or hardening and loses its flavor gradually.

Health Benefits

· Lime is a rich source of Vitamin C, which helps to prevent scurvy in children. It also helps boost immunity.
· Lime has great medicinal use in cosmetic industry, due to the presence of citric acid.
· It helps in digestion and prevents constipation.
· A glass of luke warm water, sqeezed with lime, when consumed early morning helps remove toxins and gases from the body. It also helps lose weight faster.
· Lime juice can be had during nausea and vomiting, as its fresh flavor relieves one from nausea feeling.
· It is also said that daily intake of lime juice solves urinary disorders and piles.
· It is useful in skin care and eye care.
· It is used as a disinfectant, in mouth washes and in deoderants due to its fresh aroma.

Lime juice

Lime juice is prepared by crushing the pulp of lemon fruit through a lime sqeezer. Lime juice is used to prepare lime water or nimbu paani, in cooked recipes, in carbonated beverages and lemonades. It is rich in vitamin C, but lacks fiber. Lime juice can be had during nausea and vomiting, as its fresh flavor relieves one from nausea feeling. It is also said that daily intake of lime juice solves urinary disorders and piles. A glass of luke warm water, sqeezed with lime, when consumed early morning helps remove toxins and gases from the body. It also helps lose weight faster.Lime juice also has its use in cosmetics in cleansing and bleaching products.

Lime rind

Lime rind is the peel or the skin of lemon fruit. To remove lime rind, wash the fruit thoroughly. Now with a scraper or a sharp knife, gently start peeling the skin from top to bottom. It should consist of only the thin yellow skin and not the white portion. It has a nice fragrance and is used as ingredient in baked goods. The lime rind should be stored in air tight container under refrigeration until its use. Its main purpose is for its flavor. You can also use it in garnishing a salad or as a dressing for a mock tail, which consists of lemon fruit.

Lime slices

For slicing lime, first wash it under running water. Now hold on a chopping board and with a sharp knife, start slicing it. The diameter may be around ½ inch, but it is not necessary that all the slices are exactly the same. lime may be thinly or thickly sliced as per the recipe requirement. The slices can be used on mock tail glasses as a garnish. For eg; on the tall glass of Iced Tea. These can be freezed and stored.

Lime wedges

Lime wedge can be made by cutting the lime into 3-4 pieces in horizontal position. Wash and cut off the nub area on both the sides. Now cut it into 2 halves unpeeled on a chopping board. Now make 2 slices of both the halves, or of the thickness as desired. These are called the lemon wedges and are very much used in photography of food recipes and drinks. It can be used on Rosemary drink.